Dark Crystal Loops

Chapter 1

1.0

[Dark Crystal][Adminspace]| dragonraptyr

Somewhere in the endless Branches of Yggdrasil, in an area walled off to outside Loopers, Pele was hunched over her computer screen, trying very hard not to cause another eruption today. Some intern somewhere had looked at her file, seen her listed among deities who presided over art, and seen fit convince one of the higher-ups to throw a new Loop at her. As if she didn't have enough to deal with already.

Leaning back in her chair, Pele looked over what she'd been able to recover from the Loop. For a long time, it had been a few dusty files shoved off on an obscure server. But recently, in a routine cache purge and reorganization, a great deal more of the Branch had been uncovered, showing itself to be of surprising size. Naturally, it was someone's job to oversee the thing, and that someone had to be Pele.

But looking at the world more closely had given Pele pause, and brought her close to erupting at some poor hapless intern. While it was true that she was a goddess of art, she was far from the most qualified person in her pantheon to watch over a Loop that featured music written so deeply into it, to the point that it was etched as vividly as the Middle Earth Loops, which had literally been sung into existence.

Pursing her lips for a moment, Pele brought up her email and sent a quick notice off to Lono. He was much more qualified to run Thra's Loop, having both seniority as a god, and actually having Music on his resume, instead of merely art.

Before long, Lono wandered over in person to see her.

"You said that you had a Loop that I might be interested in, Pele?"

She nodded. "Some intern, I think, sent in a list of art gods to someone. I think my name got picked because everyone knows who I am. Didn't bother to look deeper."

Lono summoned a raincloud to keep her hair from oozing onto her computer. Fresh basalt was always a pain to chip off of the keys. "I certainly wouldn't mind a change of pace. I've certainly got plenty of free time on my hands right now, even with my other work. Anything I should know ahead of time?"

Pele shrugged. "Not much. You'll need to keep any of the UrRu or Skeksis from looping - they're two halves of a whole, and a couple of them might get thrown up as candidates for Looping. UrSkeks might end up being Loop-aware. That's all I can really think of at the moment."

Lono thought it over for a moment. "I'll take the Loop, and take care of submitting the paperwork.

Pele gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Lono! I owe you a coffee or something."

Lono gave a wave. "Not a problem!"

Returning to his desk, Lono looked over the information, running a search on likely Anchor candidates.

Loop: Thra/Dark Crystal

1) Jen, a Gelfling

2) Kira, a Gelfling

3) Aughra, Voice for Thra

Lono pursed his lips, opening further files on all three, as well as on the recently uncovered data. Looking over it, he smiled, and locked in the Anchor. It was fitting, he thought, in a way few Loops had the opportunity to be. But it fit with the melody already written, and even from here, with the loop not yet activated, a song was ringing out. Aughra would make a fine Anchor for Thra.

1.1

[Dark Crystal]| dragonraptyr

Another Loop, Another Time. In the Age of Innocence.

The clock that had swung forwards came to a halt. Frozen in time for countless trine, as somewhere distant, calamity struck and countless worlds burned. Then, suddenly, all things came undone, and the clock swung backwards. To the beginning.

Once, Thra had need of an eye to see. A voice to speak. And the great Crystal obliged. Now, trine later that had never been, Thra had need again. And Aughra was born. It was not like the first time she had been born, with the will of Thra. She had been new, then. This was a rebirth, the same that she took every nine trine. But she had two good eyes, and the suns had not yet given her a third.

"Hmmph." Aughra snorted. "At the beginning. No home, no castle. Just Aughra." The stars had called her attention before. Now, she had trine again to study them. This turning back of the clock had new merit to it, and Thra burned to understand what had befallen it. To understand what had happened. This was Aughra's task. "Lots to do" Aughra muttered. "Stars to study. Gelfling to teach. There is much that Aughra has to do." She paused for a moment, looking out across the land. "And," she added "Much Aughra has to do again. Mouthmuck."

1.2

[Dark Crystal] | dragonraptyr

Once again, Thra had need of an eye, of a voice. Once more, Aughra Woke. Seven times now, she had watched Thra turn again. Seven times she had watched the UrSkeks come. Seven times, she had watched them somehow find fault. Watched them fall, watched the urRu and the Skeksis born from the wound. Watched as all of Thra suffered for the wound in the world, and Aughra left with no answers as how to help. But this waking was strange to Aughra. Not born of the need of the trees and rocks this time. Now, Aughra was Gelfling, with slight form and gossamer wings, and the memories of Aughra of the Gelfling dreamfasted to her.

Aughra sat, and looked out over the world. She marked all of the ways that Gelfling saw differently from Aughra. Marked the way her thoughts flowed from one to the other, carefree in their delights. Marked the way a Gelfling nose smelled, how Gelfling hands touched. She raised her wings and let the air pour over them, marking how the breeze felt across them. Looked inwards, Aughra gave a hurph of amusement. Gelfling body, she had. But within her, her vliya was not that of a Gelfling, but that of Aughra. This, then, she would carry with her, no matter what form Thra asked her to take. There was some comfort in the thought.

For this time, Aughra would go into the world as Gelfling. Learn to see as Gelfling, that Thra might better know them. Her age-old tasks, she set aside for a time. She was Aughra, and had trine enough still to learn.

1.3

[Dark Crystal] | dragonraptyr

With nearly thirteen cycles completed, Aughra was beginning to understand the rhythm and the flow of time that had engulfed both her and the rest of Thra. Though she was no closer to solving the problem of the Skeksis and the urRu, people and events had begun to be fastened in her mind, players who would shape the paths of Thra. Aughra recorded these memories with great care, searching among them for answers to her questions.

She also turned her eyes back towards the heavens. The UrSkeks had taught her a great deal in those early trine of the stars, and in none of their knowledge were cycles of time recorded. But she had a duty to understand the world beyond the cycles, and she had put off this task long enough. Her eyes must return to the heavens.

It was during this time of skywatching that a stone fell to Thra from the heavens. This stone had fallen before, in every cycle, but Aughra had paid it no heed. Now a memory, long dusty and lost long ago when the Crystal cracked, was being revived.

Aughra needed to see the stone.

It did not take the Earthmother long to reach the crater, finding the stone still hot from its violent journey. Beneath the rocky crust, currents of vliya circled steadily. Laying a hand on the stone, Aughra closed her eyes, focusing on the currents.

"You. I know you. Yes." Aughra gave a great sigh. "Crystal cracked. Thra cracked. And Aughra with it. Got lost you did. And Aughra had much to think about. Dangle and Strangle, what a fool Aughra's been."

Reaching out into the stone, she pulled it again into the shape that she knew, and watched as Raunip was born again unto the world of Thra. He stood there, blinking in the light of the Brother Suns, looking onto Aughra. "Who...are you?"

Aughra took him gently by the hand. "I am Aughra." she told him gently. "I am your mother, and this is your world."

"My world." Raunip said slowly. "What do I do with it?"

"Care for it. For the things on it, and in it. Help them to grow." Aughra led Raunip back to her home, a small hut that she had made on the High Hill. It was not her Orerry, but it had been her home for so long that cycle after cycle, Orerry or no, she returned to it. It was not surprising that Raunip would not remember. Aughra alone, of all things on or in Thra, remembered. She was not the young sprout that she had been when she first formed Raunip. She had learned much care since then, and caution. She had forgotten him once, turned her eye away before. Not so now. Never again.

1.4

[Dark Crystal]| dragonraptyr

Another Loop, Another Time. In the Age of Harmony. Aughra looked down across Thra from her Orerry, watching Raunip at work. He had been acting strangely the past few cycles, his mind on something that she could not see. When she had asked him, he had told her that his visions were filled with times that had not yet been, and things that had never happened.

When she had dreamfasted with him to see what he meant, she had been shown days of cycles long passed, cycles he could not have known of, bound to the current cycle as he was, a voice for Thra's present emotions and desires.

It was a curious thing that Aughra did not have the answer to. Why would Thra change its song? Why ask Raunip to remember?

"Mother!" Raunip looked up, noting his mother's gaze upon him. "Have you seen something?"

"No." Aughra grimaced. "Your memories. What they mean. Good for Thra? Or Bad?"

"Ah." Raunip's brows drew together, his tail lashing. "I had thought little of them. That they were not so different from the visions that I already had. You think they are more?"

"Think?" Aughra's hairy lips pulled into a tight smile. "Aughra knows, my son. For your memories, Aughra was there. Aughra remembers. Question is, why does Raunip?"

Raunip sat down, looking pensive. "I do not know, Mother. I cannot say if this will of Thra's that I might know of the cycles that you were present for is good or bad. I cannot pretend that it has not influenced my actions, nor my opinions."

"That's why, maybe." Aughra took a seat beside her son. "Something wants changing, then. Aughra doesn't change things. Not Augrha's place. But Raunip..." she poked him in the chest. "Raunip is drawn to action, to what Aughra misses. We will see what unfolds of Raunip's choices, eh?"

"Yes, mother." Raunip sighed, looking at the Orerry, tracking its movements through space. "It is nearly time for the Great Conjunction, yes? Will we leave for the Crystal, now?"

Aughra nodded, watching the motion of comets and moons. "Soon. What do your visions remember of this Conjunction?"

Raunip closed his eyes, first his small blue one, second his large golden one. "I see the UrSkeks divided, mother. I see every cycle that they divide, caught between good and evil, trapped in their natures. I see the poison their darkness pours over Thra. My life extinguished, many times." He paused, looking at Aughra's grimace. "What comes next, mother? My visions never show me."

"Skeksis have no patience. All that, gone to the urRu. Skeksis are cunning, devious. But when they find an idea, they act on it, never thinking of what their actions will hold. The vliya of Gelfing. A great prophecy." Aughra gave a great and weary sigh. "Over the cycles, time and again, only two Gelfing survive to the next Great Conjunction. Dead by Skeksis hand, all others are."

Raunip looked troubled by these words, and did not speak for a long time. At last, he stood, looking over his shoulder at Aughra. "Thank you, Mother. I believe I know what my visions have seen now." He left for the door out to the High Hill. "I will see you at the Great Conjunction. There are those I must meet with, first."

Aughra watched him go. "What's it mean, eh?" she asked herself. "Something new. A new ending. What's it mean, for old Aughra?"

The day of the Great Conjunction arrived, bright and clear. Around the Earthmother, all Thra held its breath, waiting to see what this Cycle would hold. Rocks ceased their rumbling. Streams fell nearly silent. And all of the plants and the animals of Thra murmured to each other.

Raunip arrived at the Crystal Castle, two Gelfling and a Podling beside him, all three looking ill at ease, aware of the strangeness of the song of Thra.

"Something's coming." Aughra murmured to her son, watching as the representatives entered the Castle ahead of her. "Such a big commotion that Thra's making. Didn't do this before." She looked sharply at Raunip. "What've you done, eh?"

Raunip regarded his Mother calmly. "Nothing. And I will do nothing, however much I wish to cry out. You know that I have no love for the UrSkeks. That clearly I see the darkness within them. But in my visions, I have cried out before. Intervened. And that darkness was loosed upon Thra. I will not cause that again." He too, watched the people enter. "I would see them live in joy, mother."

"Showed you, didn't I? Of the cycles before I remembered you, tracked out the stone from which I shaped you? UrSkeks still fell. Still split. Might happen now, as well." Aughra laid a hand on Raunip's shoulder in comfort. "Not to blame, you are, for all the darkness that has covered Thra. Only those who make the darkness are to blame for it."

Raunip smiled, walking through the halls of the Crystal Castle. "Thank you, mother, for your wisdom. Even so, here I am. And I will not speak, this time. I have seen the darkness inside the UrSkek. I have seen it take form, have known the shape of it now. I will always decry that darkness, but I no longer need to speak.

They came to a high balcony. Below them, on the lower one, the three representatives of Thra stood, Gyr and Kel of the Gelfling speaking softly to each other, while Kotho of the Pod looked on in contemplative silence.

As the Brother Suns drew near to their peaks and the light grew stronger, the Urskeks filed in, each holding a crystal staff. The Castle grew silent, watching what was about to occur. Would the Skeksis know their birth? The fate of Thra once more be changed?

Aughra and Raunip watched quietly as the Conjunction came to pass. Watched the UrSkeks become pure and bright, and depart Thra through the Crystal of Truth.

Raunip was silent for a moment. "They left." He said at last. "I don't..."

Aughra raised a hand to silence him. "Not good." She said. "Look at the Crystal!"

Raunip looked, choking back a cry of dismay. The Crystal, once bright, had been dimmed by the greed, the darkness of the UrSkeks. Aughra groaned. "Should have seen!" she moaned. "Should have expected! If inwards passes the slivered light/one world dies, another made right! Same thing! Now the Crystal is dark for a thousand trine!

Raunip looked at the Crystal "My fault, then! I should have said something! I thought that I had no need to! If I had spoken up..."

Aughra sighed. "Come on. Got to talk to those you've brought with you. No sense hiding what's happened. Caused great pain before, that."

Explaining things to the three below to a great deal of Aughra's time and energy. They had many questions about the darkening of the Crystal, and how long it would last. "Until the Conjunction comes again, probably." Aughra said at last. "The crystal is darkened from within. That's a stain that stays, and it will take the light of the Triple Suns to burn it out again. Have to be careful, that the darkness does not cover the rest of Thra."

"Will it?" The song-teller asked, eyes sharp. "Is all of Thra threatened by this dark light?"

"Threatened." Aughra grew pensive with the memories of many cycles past. "This is the great Heart of Thra, Gelfling. If it sickens, Thra sickens. If it dies, Thra dies. Days of darkness lie before us. The land, its people, all will suffer in the coming days."

"Then we will stay." Kel said, looking at the other two. "We will watch the Crystal, and send word to all if we see threat of the darkness."

Raunip nodded. "You will need to send word to your fellows. They will wonder at your absence."

Kotho spoke up. "Vy skazhete yim? Vsi vony vam doviryatymut"

Aughra stamped. "You three would do well to take care. A darkened Crystal may darken the hearts of those that watch it. Trouble is coming. Listen to Aughra!"

"Yes, Earthmother. We will remember."

"Good. Aughra pursed her lips, and then left the Castle alone. Worry laid itself in her heart. It was hard to know what the coming days held, or how it would shape Thra. But all the world around her sang a warning. And she had lived through cycles enough of Skeksis rule to listen.

Several ninet passed marked as ever by the turns of Aughra's great Orerry. Slowly, darkness fell upon the land, sickening the water, the plants, and the trees. Warned by Aughra, by Raunip, and by those in the Crystal Castle, the people of Thra readied themselves for the hardships that were to come. Songtellers sang of the Crystal Darkened, and to watch for the Conjunction that would come.

Through it all, Aughra continued to worry. Thra still sang of trouble, above and beyond the Dark Crystal. This darkening should not have been different from the others. The Skeksis never were, but their darkness still touched Thra, changing its fate.

Once, this would have been the Age of Division. Now, in this cycle, Gelfling called it the Dark Age of Thra. Where once their lives had been filled with wonder, and with joy, their dreams were now darker, and their hearts were now harder.

Wherever Raunip wandered, he saw the signs of decay, and heard the songs of sorrow.

It was in a summer ninet halfway through its trine that he came to the home of some Gelfling, who had called for his aid.

"She is sick!" the eldest told Raunip. "She speaks not at all to us, and her eyes and hair have gone dull."

Raunip looked at the Gelfling child before him, his heart feeling fear. He had seen this before, in his mother's dreamfast. "Her vliya" he said softly, running a long finger through wispy white hair, looking into milky white eyes. "But there are none who could take it!"

He looked to the Gelfling parents before him. "I ask you to journey with me to the High Hill, home to my mother. I know of her illness, but not how to mend it. My mother will have answers to these."

Aughra looked into the drained eyes of a Gelfling boy. "Gone. Like the others. Vliya taken, nothing left of the Gelfling."

She stood, ducking out of the way of a planet. "No Skeksis to drain Gelfling. No Gelfling to know how!"

Raunip placed a blanket around the shoulders of a Podling woman. "You think it could be a Gelfling, mother? It does not seem to be their way."

"No." Aughra shook her head. In the space of a few trine, her home had become a hospice, caring for the dozens of peoples of Thra who had suddenly and mysteriously had their essence drained away. "Doesn't. But can't see what isn't there. No Skeksis, so must not be a Skeksis. Must be Gelfling. Or Podling. Could be both."

"Is that what Thra's song tells you, mother? Could Gelfling or Podling been darkened? Could they have stolen the vliya from the people?" Raunip turned to leave. "I will return to the Crystal Castle, and check on its inhabitants. I will see you soon, mother.

He stepped past a Pod couple who were waiting to enter, and was gone.

Aughra watched him go, ignoring the others around her. "I pray, my son, that you go not to your doom."

The Castle was dark as Raunip approached, with only a few lights on. The Gelfling on guard bowed low, as did the Podling beside him. "Greetings, oh Son of the Earthmother. I fear we were not prepared for your arrival."

Raunip waved a hand. "I come suddenly. How can you prepare for this?"

The guard straightened. "I shall let the Lords and the Lady know of your arrival, Great Raunip." He turned to his fellow. "See Great Raunip to a room, if you would."

The podling guard nodded in response. "Syudy, budʹ laska."

It had been many trine since Raunip had need to visit the Castle. To watch Thra for signs of the Dark had been his task, and it had taken him across Skarith and beyond. This would be the first time since the UrSkeks departed that Raunip returned.

Little had changed, and all things as well. Though the Castle was free of the grime he had seen many times in dreamfast, the Darkening of the Crystal had spread into the Castle itself, and the wall shone with an eerie glow. Raunip tried his best not to gaze into their depths. Creatures of Thra could be corrupted from gazing into the Crystal veins. The Castle, cut from Crystal,might have the same effect, though he could not know for certain.

"Vasha kimnata, chudova. Vy pobachyte, koly tse mozhlyvo." the podling guard bowed low, before returning to his post.

Though the guard had said he would be seen quickly, the Sister moons were already high in the sky, and an audience before morning was unlikely. Leery of the walls, Raunip fell deeply asleep.

Motion woke him. The room was entirely dark, and Raunip could not see. He was no longer laying down, but had been placed into a chair at some point. Fear gripped his heart. His mother had watched from a cage, in more than one cycle, as the vliya was drained from innocent creatures. The shape of the chair was different, but its purpose was clearly the same.

Light began to peak into the chamber from the grate that led to the great shaft. Raunip's eyes searched the shadows, until they fell on the guards who had first met him at the gate.

"It is you then? Who have been taking vliya?" If there were creatures here, they might be freed. "You have done these terrible things?"

"They have done their duty." A soft voice answered from behind him. "And been rewarded for their service."

Raunip watched as Kotho of the Podlings, now wizened and white haired, walked into view. "As have we." The ancient podling spread his arms wide. "We have fulfilled the duty that you entrusted to us, Great Raunip. We have watched the Crystal well." His smile turned cruel, then. "To great benefit."

"And how long has your heart been dark, Kotho?" Raunip jeered listening closely to see if he could hear any creatures. But aside from himself, Kotho, and the two guards, nothing else breathed. "One ninet? Two? The crystal has granted you long life. How poorly you know to use it!"

"Darkened?" Kotho questioned. "Our minds were opened on the day of the Great Conjunction. The truth of the world was made known to us then. How wisely we have used what we were given. How we have shared the gifts of the Crystal."

Raunip sank. "If only I had spoken that day." He said sadly. "You would have been spared. You would have wept, Kotho, to know what you had become."

Kotho ignored him, gesturing to one of the guards. "I am glad that you finally visited, Raunip. You were born from Thra, much like your mother was. I look forwards to tasting such a mighty vliya."

The guard pulled a lever. And high above, the dark crystal rang.

A knock came at Aughra's door. As she hastened to fetch it, Thra rumbled in warning. For days now, all of Thra had rung with a great cacophany, its only tune in discord.

Raunip stood at the door, held up by a young Gelfling boy, dark eyes filled with worry. "I found him at the edge of the Dark Wood, Earthmother." the boy pleaded. "Please, what's wrong with him?"

Raunip's eyes were milky, his hair wispy, and skin pale. Aughra felt herself grow cold, as she gazed on the empty eyes of her son. "Fools! Accursed fools! What have they done!"

She took Raunip in her arms. As she did , something of him seemed to come back for a moment. "Mother." He croaked. "It was Kotho, and Gyr, and Kel. The crystal darkened them long ago. They are no better than Skeksis now."

Coughing, he laboured for breath. "I shou- I should have said something. Long ago. So, so very long ago."

His voice fell silent, and his body grew cold. Gently, Aughra laid down her son. Around her, Thra echoed, and rumbled, and groaned.

"Hear me, Lifedrinkers!" Aughra called, in a voice for the mountains, for the rivers, and the trees. "I am Aughra! The Earthmother! You have Woken the World! Fear now its Waking!"

1.5

[Dark Crystal]| dragonraptyr

Aughra Woke, newly born from the world, in the dead of night. Stretching, she looked to the stars. Her birth was several ninet later than usual, but several still before the birth of Raunip.

"A new one!" A harsh raspy voice so much like her own pulled Aughra from her watching. There before her stood one who mirrored herself, from the knobbled form to the three eyes. From the curling horns to a whiskered chin. Beside this other Aughra, two Gelfling stood, looking on with eyes wide in curiosity.

"What is it, Orhtew? Is it a new Aughra?" One of the Gelfling asked. "Is it a new earthwatcher?"

The one who was not Aughra patted both Gelfling on the head. "Yes, young ones. Thra has decided that we need fresh eyes, to see what these old ones have missed. So it has given us a new Aughra."

"New." Aughra gave a snort at that. "Aughra's not new." She peered at the inquisitive face of the other. "Don't believe Aughra. Don't see." She held out a hand, offering dreamfast. "See, then, if you don't believe her."

The other grasped Aughra's hand, and both were pulled into the dreamfast. Memories spun about both. She could feel Orhtew's confusion, then amazement as he understood the cycles, and the flow of time that had wrapped itself around her. And through his eyes, she could see the story of the millions of trine that had come before, when Thra, newly formed, had reached out to see, and given rise to the race of the Aughra.

She remembered the long hours that Orhtew had spent in the Great Library, reading the story of how those first watchers had learned to know the world around them, had named the rocks and the cliffs and the caves. When they had discovered the seas and streams, and taught them to speak.

She watched Orhtew hear stories of when the Aughra first watched other creatures and plants come into existence, curious about others like themselves.

Both drew back from the dreamfast, now familiar with each other. Orhtew regarded Aughra calmly. "I bid you greetings, Earthmother, on your journey through the ages. He bowed low. "I can only hope that your time with us is more pleasant than others.

Aughra grunted, giving a raspy laugh. "Might be nice. Have a break, not need to worry about Skeksis or that mess with Lifedrinkers." She gave a sigh, looking over the Gelfing. "What's the matter? Scared of Old Aughra?"

"Orhtew called you the Earthmother." the one who had not yet spoken ventured softly. "But you have just been born. What does he mean?"

Orhtew chuckled. "Time is turning in on itself, little Gelfling. Ages repeat, over again. The Earthmother was born the single voice for all of Thra, and is marker of those memories."

"Then I have been born before?" the young Gelfling asked. "I will be born again?"

"Probably." Aughra chuckled at the thought. "Maybe not. Depends on if anyone's gone and mucked things up."

The Gelfling looked shyly at Aughra. "Will you remember us, Earthmother, when we are only a dream?"

"This world," Aughra looked out, feeling Thra in her bones. "This cycle is not the same. Very different from most, with Aughra's everywhere, poking their noses into everything. Not easy to forget that. Huh!"

Orhtew laughed. "I shall let the other earthwatchers know of your journey, and we will keep our eyes open for the UrSkeks, should they arrive. In the meanwhile, you may wish to visit the Great Library.

"Library?" Aughra was curious now. "Saw it, in your memories. All of Aughra's knowledge, written there?"

"Oh you'll love it, Earthmother! All of the Aughras do. Everyone says that the Great Library of the Many Aughras is the most wonderful place on Thra, besides the Cavern of the Great Crystal!"

"Well? We're waiting then? Why?" Aughra bellowed out, a smile on her face. "Boojig, Gelfling. Let's see this Library, then!"

1.6

[Dark Crystal] | dragonraptyr

It had been fairly quiet, as far as cycles went. Aughra had awoken long after the Skeksis and the urRu had split, after Raunip had passed on. With no need to leave her Orerry for some time to come, Aughra had instead chosen to spend the time on various studies that had lain by the wayside thanks to the recent rash of busier cycles.

In their own way, those cycles had proven valuable, teach Aughra, and Thra in turn, much on the nature of the world that had gone unnoticed, and given Aughra new passion for the study of Thra itself.

She had studied the stars for cycles, charting their patterns across the heavens, until their movements were comforting and familiar, and the pattern of the Orerry as sure a guide to the trine as any timepiece.

Glancing up at it, she set aside the book that she had been etching, and fetched the box of crystal shards. It was nearly time for the Great Conjunction, and she would be having a visitor soon.

After seeing that a pot of ta was brewing on the stove, and a meal was set out, she stepped out the door to check on the finger vines. No matter how many cycles passed, the Gelfling Jen had a terrible habit of getting himself stuck in them. This cycle proved to be no different.

What was different, however, was the armour he wore, woven with urRu pattern, and the glittering dagger he waved about like a madman.

"What's this then?" She demanded in Gelfling. "Wrecking my vines, are you Gelfling. Going to break them?"

Jen paused, looking at her for a moment. Then he pointed the dagger at her. "You! Are you the Earthwitch called Aughra? Relinquish the Crystal Shard immediately, or you shall pay for it!"

Aughra gaped for a moment at the Gelfling's audacity. "nekhay yde" she chided the finger vines. Not bothering to help Jen up, she looked at him. "Coming, aren't you, Gelfling? Want your shard? You'll follow Aughra."

Without waiting for his response, she headed back into her house, and poured out two cups of ta. Pushing one into his hands, she pointed to the box. "Shard's in there, Gelfling. Find it yourself. But first..."

She pushed her face close to his, pulling the dagger from his hands. Holding it up, she shook it at him. "What's this then, hmm? Going to stab Aughra? You show her what's going on." She put the dagger out of his reach, and held out a hand.

He looked at it as though it was poison. "Are you going to cast a spell on me?" Jen asked warily. "The urRu say you can.

"Depends." Aughra grunted. "Don't look broken to me. Nothing Aughra needs to fix."

Unconvinced, Jen took her hand. His thoughts spilled out towards her, untrained and reckless. Much of it was not things that she did not already know. The context, however, surprised her. When she drew back, he looked at his hand in shock. "What was that, that I saw? What did you do to me?

"Dreamfasting." She replied. "Gelfling art. Growing up with those Mystics, it's not surprising you didn't know." She shuffled over to the table and sat down. "Around and around, time goes, in great cycles. Aughra knows them. Seen them. Sometimes the same. Sometimes they change."

"I saw that much." Jen admitted. "Time repeating over and over. You know I need the shard, then."

"Mmhm. Do you?" Aughra focused her single eye on the boy before her. "Somethings change. Your mystics, this time."

"What about the mystics?"

"When the Crystal cracked, so did UrSkeks. Into Skeksis and Mystics. Saw that much, didn't you?"

"Right. The Evil Skeksis, and the Good Mystics." Jen sipped at the cup of ta, dagger forgotten. "But what does that have to do with the Mystics being different this time?"

"Got it all backwards, they did." Aughra gave a cackle. "Good Skeksis, evil Mystics." She pushed herself out of her chair. "Get your crystal, Gelfling. We're going to the Castle to find out what all of this is about."

Passing down from the High Hill and through the Dark Forest, Aughra marched with a ready certainty. There had been no sign of a need to leave her Orerry in this cycle, and this proved to have been a foolishness.

Behind her, Jen scrambled over stones, hurrying to keep up. "Do you mean to tell me," he panted, half demanding "That my masters, who raised and loved me, are evil? They are no different than in your memories that I've seen."

"There's truth, Gelfling, and there are lies that seem to be so. Good to know the difference!" Aughra adjusted her path slightly, to take them through where once would have stood Stone-In-The-Wood. If her reckoning was correct, it would still stand.

"Your Mystics," she continued "Give you armor. Teach you to fight back. Huh" She gave a guffaw. "Call Aughra an Earthwitch. Teach you to act with force, and punish those who deny you. These things good people do, eh?"

"I don't know." Jen admitted. "I thought that they did. Up until you said they didn't. Now, I'm not sure."

They walked in silence for several hours, picking their way through the trees. Soon enough, they came to a path, and Aughra bent down to examine it. "Mystics told you that there were no more Gelfling, eh?" She pointed to the tracks in the dust. "These are left by Gelfling feet, no more than a day old. Dead Gelfling can't leave tracks!"

She watched as Jen bent down, rubbing his fingers through the dust, something like hope in his eyes. "More Gelfling? Like me?" He asked her. "I'm not alone?"

The rattle of wagon wheels caught Aughra's ear, and she looked up. Giving Jen a nudge, she moved to the side of the path. "There's your answer."

The wagon was filled with goods, the Gelfling at the reins strumming idly. As he passed them, he gave a nod, never breaking his song. Aughra waved a warty hand, chuckling at the expression on Jen's face. "Come on then, Gelfling. Got a ways to go, yet."

Gelfling guards surrounded the Castle of the Crystal, all hale and hearty, Aughra was pleased to note. Beside her, Jen tightly clung to both the crystal shard, and to his dagger, as if they were lifelines. Before they entered, one of the Guard approached Aughra.

"Please state your name, and your business at the Castle." she said in a cool voice.

Squinting at who it was, Aughra nearly barked out a laugh. "Aughra, Keeper of Secrets, here to speak to the Skeksis on matters regarding the Great Conjunction."

"And him?" the guard asked, pointing to a red-faced Jen. "What is his business?"

"Same thing." Aughra stated. "Here for matters regarding the Great Conjunction as well."

"Very well." The guard acquiesced. "We will see you inside, and you will wait to speak to them." Turning on her heel, she gave a sign to her peer. "Fetch someone to take my watch."

She led them over the drawbridge, and into the Crystal Castle, bright and shining. Quietly, Jen slid up to Aughra. "That Gelfling." He whispered. "She was in your memories. You called her Kira, in them."

Aughra only gave him a sly smile. "Aughra doesn't know. You do?" she teased. As Jen's face redded, her smile drew wider.

They did not have long to wait before they were granted an audience. There were only two Skeksis in the throne room today, along with a mixture of both Gelfling and Podling, both guests and attendants. The guard from earlier stamped her spear on the ground, and bowed. "Lord SkekUng, Lord SkekSil. Aughra of the High Hill and her attendant to see you, on matters on the Conjunction."

"Thank you, watchmaster. You may return to your watch" SkekUng replied. Standing, the Skeksis walked forwards to Aughra. "Greetings, Earthmother. We have missed you in our halls of late. We would hear what counsel you may give."

"Cracked, the Crystal is, isn't it." Aughra cackled. "Skeksis, Mystic, cracked as well."

"It is so, Aughra." SkekSil said respectfully. "The shard went missing long ago, when our other halves chose to depart the Castle. Have you found it? The Crystal must be mended by the Conjunction."

Aughra pushed Jen forwards, the Gelfling now frozen stiff by the events taking place. "I have it, sirs." he said, showing it. "My master told me to retrieve the shard, and sent me to Aughra."

The Chamberlain gave a sniff, taking in Jen's armor. Then, he knelt down, so that he was nearly at eye level with the boy. "Oh, child." he said mournfully. "You were taken by our other halves, were you not?"

"I was raised by them after they found me." Jen said, not looking the Skeksis in the eye. "They cared for me, and loved me. I thought that they were protecting me. But nothing they have told me seems to be true. They told me that Skeksis only wanted war."

"Oh, child, not true." replied the Chamberlain. "Mmmmhh. Not true, you see?" And he gestured to the throne room, and the conversation that filled it. "We Skeksis value peace. Not war. For many ages, Gelfling and Skeksis have lived together. We would not break that apart."

Aughra frowned, stroking her beard. "Your other halves. Will they come?"

SkekUng nodded. "We were evenly divided. That which we value, they abhor. What we desire in opulence, they find in simplicity. We desire our independence. So, despite their cruel hearts, they wish to be whole. They will come, Earthmother."

"Good. Then you have no more need of Aughra." She gave a nod to the Skeksis, and to Jen. "No need for old Aughra."

"You're leaving?" Jen asked, looking aghast.

"Didn't you hear? Didn't you see? You know what's got to be done, not going to have any trouble doing it. Aughra's going back to her High Hill."

"Then you have our gratitude, oh Great Aughra." SkekSil bowed. "We will not meet again, in this life." He turned to Jen. "The Conjunction is tomorrow. We'll see about getting you settled into a room for the night, and something to eat, shall we?"

Aughra left the throne room, smiling in spite of herself. "Good Skeksis. Bad Mystics. What's next, Eh?"

1.7

[Dark Crystal]| dragonraptyr

This was quite unusual, Aughra had to admit, bouncing out of the way of her Orerry. She was born of Thra, many times over, to be its voice, and its eye. Apparently, being born of Thra was fairly literal in this case, seeing as she appeared to be Thra in miniature, with three small suns, and three small moons.

Beside her, Raunip hovered curiously, a small stone swinging about in her orbit. "Is something the matter, mother? Are there podlings caught in your gravity again?"

1.8

[Dark Crystal][Madoka Magica] | Masterweaver

Alien Flame

It was interesting, in a way, to become aware after she had been formed. To find part of her work done, without having done it, though she had. If she had not been used to the odd cycles now, she might have found it distressing. As it was... As it was, she was on the outskirts of a small gelfling village. A young Skeksis reveled with the curious gelflings; so easy was it to forget they had once been vivacious and charming, when she so often remembered what they would become in time.

She had intended to enter, in order to watch the proceedings, but something had caught her attention. A creature, so small, looking on silently as the gathering sung and danced together, and yet it did not join in the song. Not a twitch, not a hum, it simply stared with red eyes. That alone was strange. Stranger still was that she did not recognize it-after all these cycles, she did not recognize it. Such a small, harmless-looking creature, white and pink like a cloud loved by the second sun, with thin golden bands round its drooping second set of ears. And yet, it arrested her attention entirely.

It turned to look at her as she approached, and for a moment, but a moment, she saw something in those eyes that she had seen before; a simple questioning look, not of a young child, but of a wandering scholar. She had seen it on the face of the Urskeks, long ago; she saw it on occasion in the looks of young Skeksis and urRu. Not curiosity, curiosity came with a sense of wonder and awe, but merely... interest.

She harrumphed. "What's this then? We've never met before, have we?"

"I don't suppose we have." the creature replied.

"Hmph. Aren't you going to introduce yourself to old Augrah?"

"I am Kyubey." For a moment the creature said nothing. "I am... a visitor."

Augrah nodded, settling down next to the creature. The two of them watched as the Skeksis performed a great act of prestidigitation, earning applause from the gelflings around him.

"This world is quite the unique blend," Kyubey mused eventually. "The line between plant and animal is blurred... and the works of the Skeksis blend insect and machine. Not unheard of, but there is an underlying cohesion in the contradiction."

"You say words, but they don't feel right. No wonder. Just observations."

"I am a creature... was a creature without emotions. Even now, they are rare. Beside me sits a being of tree and stone, ancient watcher of the world for which she speaks, yet I do not feel awe or fear."

Aughra gave him a look. "Really."

"I respect you," he assured her. "I know better than to draw your ire."

"Mmm." Aughra considered him for a moment longer, reaching out to brush to tap his back-

-podling vilya was akin to candles scattered around a room, so many sparks joining to make a great light, and gelfling vilya was a hearthfire, warm and all-encompassing. The Urskeks were pillars of flame, orbited by considerations and concepts; Aughra herself was a bonfire, illuminating the forests of her memories far and wide. But this creature's vilya... it was not the same shade as the others, for one. Instead of a warming blue, it was an unnervingly distant puce-and the flames of it flickered in unusually regular ways. And what flames they were, not gathered in a single room but spread in spheres across something like a fleet, almost all the same... here and there, a familiar flicker, but otherwise alien. The memories were organized and cataloged in a pattern strange but logical, and it was small comfort that Aughra realized her own memories were not flowing in as normal dreamfast, that this creature did not realize or care that it could pluck her clean simply because it did not see the point-

-and pulled her hand back. After a moment, she nodded quietly, folding them together. "Perhaps it is best we do not fight, then."

"Perhaps." Kyubey nodded toward the party. "I did consider making a contract with some gelflings. They are well suited to being magical girls... but the existence of the urRu and Skeksis made me reconsider."

"Oh?"

"Some would say I am closer to Skeksis, because I drain essence-not to ensure my own survival, but that of the universe. I view myself more as urRu; Skeksis are short-sighted and emotional, and the urRu are as honest as I. But here, where light and darkness can manifest in such duality... it would be more obvious when a warrior of hope fell to despair, where the monsters they fight come from. It would only work a few times. In this world it would be an inefficient method of gathering energy."

"Feh, duality." Aughra spat. "Said it was foolish. A balance on two? It should have been three. Important number."

"In this world," Kyubey agreed. "In others... two. Four. Six. Forty-two. And sometimes, numbers are nothing at all." He tilted his head. "I wonder how long it will take for the Skeksis to start draining the other races."

"They are young yet," Aughra replied. "When they start aging... that's when they'll start looking."

"Mmm. If I were to make a contract with a Skeksis..." Kyubey considered for a moment. "...Or perhaps an urRu. Even if it doesn't work out, it will be an interesting data point."

"So it would be." Aughra stood. "Do not harm Thra, visitor. And be wary of allowing harm to befall it."

"I understand."

Kyubey said nothing more, only watching the party. Aughra looked at him a moment longer, memorizing his form and his words.

An anomaly. Something entirely new. Even after seven cycles of seven, there were still surprises, hmm?

1.9

[Dark Crystal] | dragonraptyr

Aughra Woke in her Orerry. As was now her habit, she began to search within herself for the dreamfast that would tell her the working of the world before she had Woken. As she did, her eye roved about the Orerry, searching for work left unfinished.

It was oddly tidy, with few experiments left out, and hardly any books at all.

Most disturbingly though, was the complete lack of any sort of an Orerry.

"No! My Orerry!" Aughra's dreamfast was broken before it was finished. "What have they done to it? Where has it gone?"

Aughra hurried over to where the Orerry would usually stand. There were no marking on the floor to indicate that it had ever been built, and in its place was a small pedestal of clear black stone, trimmed in wood and brass wrought in an ornamental pattern of stars and planets. Running her fingers across the top, she found a catch, and pressed.

The top of the pedestal lit up, and above her, in stunning colours and beauty, an Orerry carved of light spun into being like blooming flowers. The familiar orbits of Thra and the worlds around it arced gracefully through the air, unsupported by rods or gears.

"What's this then?" Aughra asked herself, reaching out to touch one of the comets as it rolled by.

Her dreamfast, so rudely interrupted, would surely have the answers. Calm now, she sank back into the dream, searching now for an answer and not merely letting the memories flow by.

The first Age of Thra was as she knew it to be. But the second Age was not. In this Age, Aughra and Raunip watched the Great Conjunction alone, and no UrSkeks arrived through the Crystal.

Instead, they arrived a few trine later, flown in a ship of crystal and glass from their home. With them, they had brought great machines of their people, which they had given to the people of Thra and taught them their construction and their use.

Looking around her home now, Aughra could see the signs of the UrSkeks' technology, as well as the adaptations that the Gelfling and the Podling peoples had made.

Aughra heaved a sigh. She had seen the working of these machines in the dreamfast. Now she had to make that knowledge her own. "Surprises, surprises." She muttered, sitting down at a table. "Nothing but surprises from now on, I suppose."

1.10

[Dark Crystal][Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy] | dragonraptyr

Aughra stood in front of the Crystal of Truth, awaiting the probable arrival of the UrSkeks. As the suns neared their peak, the Crystal sang ominously.

A single figure stepped out of the Crystal.

Aughra stepped back. The figure was about the size of a Podling, with a very large nose and small eyes. It looked over her for a moment, then tilted its head in confusion.

"Are you a girl? Because you're not a very pretty girl." The child(?) said. Without waiting of Aughra's reply, the child began running all over the Cave of the Crystal. "What's this place? It's shiny!"

"It's the Cave of the-" Aughra began

"LAME." the child cut off. "No one wants to listen to an old lady." He(?) stopped before the Crystal. "Ooh. It's pretty!"

The child reached out, and poked the Crystal.

Instantly, ominously, the entire Crystal dissolved into crystal dust. As it did, all of Thra wailed, rumbling ominously as the planet began to break into a thousand fragments. As Aughra's form lost cohesion, returning to rock and root, her last conscious memory was of her erstwhile visitor looking a bit sheepish.

"Oops."

1.11

[Dark Crystal] | dragonraptyr

Aughra was born to an empty world. From the moment that she was formed, Thra was silent, and still. Though life still lived - still crawled, the Song of Thra and the light of the Crystal did not fall upon the land.

Never had Aughra's world before been silent. Never before had the Crystal been unmade. For the first time, Aughra was nearly without purpose.

The animals did not need her. The trees cared not to see. The rocks and the rivers cared not to think. And the Gelfling – young though they were – were not innocent, and unknowing of the world.

Aughra watched it all. Though she was newly born, the cycles weighed on her as never before. To mark their passing, now her only task.

She travelled to the Cavern of the Crystal to confirm what her heart already knew. The cave, though filled with beautiful gemstones, was devoid of its Crystal heart.

The UrSkeks would not come. She could not give life to Raunip's empty stone. And whatever path the Gelfling chose, Aughra had no place in it.

She turned to the east, and began to walk, until she passed beyond the hills, and was gone.

What are the Infinite Loops?

The Infinite Loops themselves are the result of the great World Tree Yggdrasil being damaged, and the gods and goddesses that governed the World Tree placing those worlds into Time Loops to mitigate and repair the damages. In the context of the Loops, these gods and goddesses are represented as system admins, to make it easier for mortal minds to understand what they're doing.

But these loops cannot simply repeat ad infinitum. Each World, or Branch in Loop parlance, needs someone to act as an Anchor. This person will remember every Time Loop, and help keep their Branch from dissolving into an inky pit of nonexistence. Over time, more people, your common or garden Loopers, will begin to remember as well, saving the Anchor from soul-crushing loneliness, bad ideas, and attempts to ascend to godhood themselves.

Sometimes, the Branches of Yggdrasil will get tangled together, creating crossovers, or Fused Loops. Over time and cross-pollination of ideas, Loopers have come up with tips and tricks to bring things with them between Loops, let each other know if they're Looping, and cause general mayhem and hilarity. Explosions frequently ensue.

While Loops usually start at the beginning of the story, Yggdrasil is broken, buggy, and has a weird sense of humor sometimes, so nothing is set in stone. Or in pudding, as the case may be. Loopers can wake up at any time, and at any place, in any form. Symptoms include tripping, stopping in the middle of sentences, vacant distant expressions, or Death Stars randomly appearing complete with lighting and maniacal laughter.

With such a varied cast and setting, there is more than one community writing for the Infinite Loops. Our community can be found at Spacebattles, in the Misc. Loops Thread. Feel free to join us, and leave your sanity at the door.

Compiler Notes:

1.0 - Lono is the Hawaiian god of rainfall, peace, and music, among other things.

1.4 - Gelfling Vampires, anyone?

1.5 - Lots and lots and lots of Aughras.

1.7 - Eventually, the Podlings ended up forming a space program.

1.8 - Aughra's first encounter with an outside Looper. Too bad neither of them know that.

1.10 - Wherever he goes, Billy causes trouble.